Through photography, Anthony Marchetti examines questions that lack concrete answers. While photography often presents a ‘trace’ of reality, it has always had a tenuous relationship to fact. He begins projects by researching issues, locations, and subjects, but has found that spaces between the facts reveal photography’s role in storytelling. In his work, individual narratives speak to larger, universal truths. In projects often spanning multiple years, he has investigated universal concepts of economic adversity, migration, relationship to home, love and loss, social and political culture, and human fears regarding change.
In 2018, Marchetti began photographing in Morrison County. Located in Minnesota’s geographic center, Morrison presents a stark contrast to the Minnesota he has known. In both 2016 and 2020, Trump’s margin of victory here ranked highest in the state. Monthly trips led to connections and preliminary photographic work. As he gained trust of residents on both sides of the political divide, he learned more about their lifestyles and values, passions and fears. To date, the work consists of portraits and photographs of places (small towns, quarries, pastoral landscapes).
As an outsider to the region, Marchetti aims to be respectful, curious, and humble. In turn, residents of Morrison County have been open and generous, and their relationships are marked by mutual trust. Through collaboration with the Weyerhaeuser Museum, he aims to share the work where the photographs originated, honoring those who have been integral to this work’s progress. Ultimately, he hopes the relationships created and the resulting photographic work will lead to greater understanding between the diverse communities of MN.
Anthony Marchetti will be at the Charles A. Weyerhaeuser Memorial Museum to speak about his project, entitled “Good People: A Photographic Exploration of Morrison County,” on April 30, 2022, from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM. The exhibit will be on display at the museum until December 31, 2022.
This event is free, but registration is required. Call (320)632-4007 or email staff@morrisoncountyhistory.org to register by April 29.
Masks are encouraged at this event.
Anthony Marchetti completed a BA at Gustavus Adolphus College and an MFA at the University of Minnesota. Currently, he is a full-time faculty member and the Chair of the Art Department at Anoka-Ramsey Community College.
A six-time Minnesota State Arts Board recipient, two-time Bush Fellowship finalist, and a McKnight fellow in 2007 and 2013, his work has been exhibited regionally and nationally, including: the Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum; Minnesota Museum of American Art; Rochester Center for the Arts; Vermont Center for Photography; Momenta Art, Brooklyn, New York; the Rayko Photo Center, San Francisco; and Casa del Tunel, Tijuana, Mexico. His work is in the permanent collection of the Weisman Art Museum, the Minneapolis Institute of Art, Gustavus Adolphus College, and the Hungarian Multicultural Center. Marchetti is represented by the TOBE Gallery in Budapest, Hungary, and had his first solo exhibition with the gallery in May of 2021.
In 2016, Marchetti was a Fulbright Scholar in Budapest, Hungary, where he taught at the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design and continued work on his project that explored his maternal grandmother’s flight from Europe following World War II.
You can find more of Marchetti’s work at his website https://anthonymarchetti.com/home.html